The RDR-4000 Weather Radar System provides very useful display information based on volumetric weather information stored in a three dimensional buffer. Currently, the RDR-4000 provides presentation of relevant weather (primary returns) and non-relevant weather (secondary returns). The primary returns are shown as solid and the secondary returns are displayed with a crosshatched pattern. The display does not indicate whether the returns are above or below the current aircraft altitude. In order for the pilot to determine whether the weather pattern is above or below the aircraft, the pilot would need to switch to viewing the weather in a vertical view display mode, such as that shown in FIG. 1. Also, the current RDR-4000 MANUAL Mode allows pilot to determine if weather returns are above or below the aircraft, but only one altitude at a time can be selected (in increments of 1000 ft). FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view display that shows the weather patterns of FIG. 1. The closest weather pattern is a primary weather pattern and is shown as a solid weather pattern. The other weather patterns are not located in the same plane as the aircraft and are, thus, displayed as secondary returns in a slashed manner.
Therefore, there exists a need for providing more information in a plan view display with regard to vertical location of existing weather patterns.